"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to....you would cry too if it happened to you," goes the refrain in Lesley Gore's 1963 hit, "It's My Party." She was upset over a lovers' quarrel. We've all been there. There's nothing worse than a sad birthday party!
Today, however, is in fact the anniversary of my birth, so there will be no crying at my party, period!
And here's why: first, because birthday cake is one of life's great joys, especially the one Malacy presented at lunch. And secondly - and most importantly - our birthdays are the perfect time to remember what our births really mean.
You see, above all the cakes of the world (real and metaphoric) lies our identity as sons and daughters of the Most High. That's what we really celebrate; the fact the God has given us yet another year of life-breath on this earth. No matter what we think, this is great news indeed.
I know that's hard to see when we're vexed by the cares of this life, especially amidst struggles and serious stress. I would say we all suffer from this spiritual myopia from time to time, don't we?
Nevertheless, it's true - God has given me another year. And He gives this year not so I can pull myself up by my own bootstraps, nor does He give me another year so I can figure it all out and fail no more. No, He gives this year freely so that I may continue to grow in knowledge and love of Him. And, of course, knowledge of Him is knowledge of my own frailty and His eternal yes in the face of it all. And that's really what life is all about.
So I don't know how you feel about your life in the here and now. Maybe you're depressed or anxious about the future. Maybe you're just exhausted on all fronts, or perhaps you're reeling from what's happened to you in years gone by. If you're totally worn down and at the end of your rope, just consider this: your loving heavenly Father has set all things straight in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom everything finds new life!
Let us forget what besets us and look not inwardly, but outwardly to the Holy One of God, who gave up His life so that we may live - living abundantly in the riches of His grace both now and in eternity. This is what is means to celebrate the anniversary of our birth.
I love you,
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